Pakistan Straining to Cope with Floods, U.N. Says

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Monsoon rains continued to fall across Pakistan on Tuesday as the United Nations and relief groups said the scale of the flooding was straining the ability of Pakistan’s government and international aid agencies to provide aid.

“Each hour that passes the flooding is multiplying misery across the entire country,” said Neva Khan, country director for the Oxfam relief agency. “Swaths of Pakistan are still underwater, and people have seen homes, shops, schools and crops flattened. The world must not leave these people stranded.”

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, also issued a plea for additional international assistance on Monday.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday, however, that the Pakistani Taliban had urged the government not to accept any foreign aid related to the flooding. A Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq, said that the Taliban would provide money, according to The A.P.

Additionally, up to six million people may be in need of immediate food or shelter, the United Nations said. Pakistan’s government has said that more than 1,200 people have died from the floods, but international aid organizations say the number may be as high as 1,600.